The freedom and excitement of creating something, letting others build upon it, and learning from it are what motivated Alicia Gibb, #hacker and #openhardware activist, to join the open hardware movement. Click the link in our bio to watch the Prologue. #OpenSourceStories

And here is where it all comes together. This is where, at least for our team, the most collaboration happens on our films. Editing can be the most satisfying part of this journey. There are a lot of changes that happen in the editing process, especially when it comes to creating a documentary, because we are constantly rewriting it as we shoot. I think that is what makes it such a challenging and fun part of the process.

One of the most exciting things about this film was getting into the field with our citizen scientists. This is where the film comes to life. This is also when our crew is the most happy, because who doesn't want to jump in a canoe on a highly polluted canal? So we knew we had to get in the canoes to tell this story correctly, but we had not gotten a 100 percent confirmation whether that it would be possible. It was extremely windy and cold which was going to make it difficult. Also Eymund didn't have the normal amount of volunteers with him, but he decided we could go out anyway. Naturally we all eagerly hopped in a canoe and followed Eymund down the canal. We got all the footage we needed that day, so already that was a success, but it also gave us the feeling of what they go through to make their project work. And that allows us to help tell their story properly.
Photos: @merelyjason

Shooting a documentary tends to push schedules around all the time, because there is always something we find to shoot that is amazing or something turns out to be awful and we need to make a new plan. It is the nature of these types of projects. But this snow storm we ran into on this shoot really flipped our schedule. Once we realized it was going to hit us we scrambled the night before trying to re-schedule all of our interviews, while trying to figure out how we could split up to cram two days of shooting into one. It was a stressful, crazy day but we have a great versatile crew, so we were able to cover enough of both days in one to make it work. Having very talented people around you makes all the difference. And sometimes you have to be that human flag.
Photo: @merelyjason

Building trust between you, your subjects, and your crew is one of the most important parts of this process. We make several pre-calls or meetings, as well as emailing back and forth before we sit our subjects in front of the camera. For this film we spoke to over 15 people on the phone to map our storyline. Most of which were cold calls that would hopefully generate a lead, until we found the wonderful people in this new film. We wanted to know what they were comfortable talking about and how they were going to tell us that story. And the same goes for the crew, we want everyone on set to know the story and vision we are going for with each piece. It decreases the amount of long discussions with them on set so everyone can focus on the content and style.
Photo: @merelyjason

False color is my best friend when shooting on green screen. It will really let you dial in your proper exposure and help you see any over or under exposed areas better then anything. One thing to remember is know your end shot, know what scene, or in our case backdrop, your subject will be placed into for the final.
The first thing we decided for the look of this film was the scientific side for Caren. We created dioramas for each project to replicate a science fair feel. We wanted it to be highly stylized with dramatic, low key lighting. So while the props were being assembled we decided to shoot Caren on a green screen.
Behind the scenes photos @merelyjason

This is the first teaser we released for The Science of Collective Discovery. We wanted to give an introduction into the story with these small insights from our characters and projects. We wanted to create these two different worlds with this film. The first is a view from a scientific side, which would be a more stylized approach shot in the studio. The second is the view from a citizen science prospective, which was shot on location with a more rugged and in the moment feel. This is Eymund, who is part of the citizen science side. @gowanusdredgers @redhatinc

We just released our new short documentary, The Science of Collective Discovery, as part of our Open Source Stories series for @redhatinc! I am going to walk you through how we shot this film over the next few weeks. I also put the link to the film in my bio. So go check it out!
Behind the scenes photo captured by @merelyjason.

I just wrapped my 7th (!!!) #rhsummit , and wanted to reflect on my 7 favorite moments. In no particular order: 1) There’s nothing like seeing your logo on a huge building. 2) Weezer! 3) Seeing @hackerfemo collaborate with the CO.LAB girls. 4) #opensourcestories Live keynotes on Wednesday afternoon (incl this from @jewelbots). 5) The premiere of our new #opensourcestories film, The Science of Collective Discovery. 6) Getting to work with some wonderful folks for a daily Facebook Live recap. 7) The amazing video team who makes it all happen and makes it worthwhile.

These people attended the world premiere of our new #OpenSourceStories film, and all they got were these awesome shirts...and a cool film experience. Click the link in our bio to watch the full film. #RHSummit

The Science of Collective Discovery, the latest film in the #OpenSourceStories series, premieres in a few minutes at #RHSummit & the first 150 attendees will get an exclusive, free t-shirt! Join us in room 2007 on the 2nd floor of Moscone West.

Come meet Michael Heimbinder, Founder and executive director of HabitatMap in our Open Source Stories booth at #rhsummit . He’ll be demoing the AirBeam 2 and giving you a chance to build an air quality map of the area! He’ll also be at the premiere of our newest #opensourcestories film, The Science of Collective Discovery (5:15, Room 2007 in Moscone West).

Rianne Trujillo is an instructor and lead developer of the Cultural Technology Development Lab. Why does she choose to work in the open? Find out in our newest #OpenSourceStories article series, “Because we had to." Link in bio.

3 of the 4 awesome filmmaker teams from the documentary shorts block at @mammothfilmfestival. We were in great company with these guys, and had a great time at the “biggest first year festival”! Thanks for including us 🤗

Femi Owolade-Coombes is a renowned hacker who was recently given an award by Prince William and Harry. He’s also only 11 years old. See how he and his mom are using open source at #TateExchange to transform how people can interact with art. Link in bio. #opensourcestories

Utah, you sure are pretty in the fall (and probably always). It was such a pleasure to attend @theblockfestival to screen our #opensourcestories film, Road to A.I., and the weather and scenery certainly made it more magical.

What would happen if you sat down with a stranger and were told to exchange stories about work and money or love, family, and friendship? Would it be awkward? Would you make a friend for life? I love the story behind what happened when they did this at Tate Modern, London's national museum of modern and contemporary art, as part of an experiment and program to get the public to interact and collaborate in new ways. Not only does it demonstrate the value of art to society in new ways, it also shows what happens when you dare to be more open. Red Hat sponsored this program and documented some of the results in a beautiful 11-minute documentary that premiered today online and at The Lincoln Theater [Link temporarily in Bio for easy access]. The film gave me goosebumps! It made me incredibly proud to be a part of a company that places such a high value on the open exchange of ideas. It made me proud of my talented colleagues who directed, produced, and wrote what I believe is an award-worthy open source story! Three cheers to all the Red Hatters behind this and to Tate Modern for being bold enough to pull this off. #opensourcestories#tateexchange#redhat#opensource#collaboration#art#documentary#filmmaking#openart#tatemodern

By creating an open space for exchange, #tateexchange at @tate is fostering opportunities to collaborate, test ideas, and discover new perspectives on life. Watch our next #opensourcestories documentary, Art of Exchange. Link in bio.

Through #TateExchange , the @tate opened up a civic space that empowered #artists and community members to share ideas in bold, creative ways. Our next #opensourcestories#documentary focuses on how the museum used open source principles to become a museum for the future.

A documentary I'm in keeps getting nominated for awards. I'm super psyched for the people at @redhatinc. It's weird because they did all the work, and yet I have so much screen time. Congrats to @rachelrooney @babramsky @elisabetheffron and the gang. #opensourcestories#openpatient#OpenNotes

Excited and honored to represent @redhatinc at the @brandfilmfest yesterday! Congrats to the team for taking home an award for Branded Program for The Open Patient short documentary. #brandfilmfestnyc#opensourcestories

Did you hear?! Our film, The Open Patient, got into the @brandfilmfest this year! @babramsky, @elisabetheffron, and I will be there on May 4. So thrilled and proud to represent @redhatinc! redhat.com/open-patient

Every revolution has revolutionaries. The #AI revolution is no different. We spent nine months talking to the few of the people behind it all, including OpenAI’s Vicki Cheung, Catherine Olsson, Ian Goodfellow, and Dario Amodei. We wanted to know about the state of AI, how we got here, and where we’re going. AI Revolutionaries, Part I: The People Behind OpenAI, tells their story. Link in profile. #OpenSourceStories